Easiest to focus SLR?

[Deleted member 65559]

I always gravitated towards a Nikon F or F2 with a P or L screen....with the 45 diagonal split image. They were the easiest for me to focus.

 

[analogpics]

I always gravitated towards a Nikon F or F2 with a P or L screen....with the 45 diagonal split image. They were the easiest for me to focus.

I've always preferred the diagonal split and wondered why it wasn't more common than the horizontal split. But i shot an entire roll with the contax rts last week just using the 45 split and over half of the shots was out of focus lol. Same with my pentax me super se. Maybe it wasn't meant to be for me to use the 45 split haha.

 

[retinax]

Ahhh thats interesting, i took out my xd11 and x700 and noticed the xd11 is noticeably dimmer (Maybe its my copy?). I agree with you about the manual metering being better in the x500 (mine's the x570 but i believe they're the same?).

I didn't realize there's a difference in the earlier/later XD11! Looks like i have an earlier model. What kind of shutter issues do they suffer from? Is it that strange shutter lag?

I hadn't heard of shutter issues. The lag can develop in the later ones, too. It's caused by the oil getting sticky in the air cylinder/piston that dampen the mirror and can be fixed quite easily by cleaning, see here, cylinder in the top right picture: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1158035/Minolta-Xd-11.html?page=47#manual

 

[james.liam]

Walked about with my R9 today. Brighter than the FM2T and FM3a I also own.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Walked about with my R9 today. Brighter than the FM2T and FM3a I also own.

R8 I have is the same. I was shooting an f4 180mm Elmar yesterday in lower evening light and had no problems. It is an excellent screen in a great camera.

 

[CMur12]

I don't know exactly when Minolta introduced the Acute Matte focusing screens. I know that the later XD-11s and XD-5s had it. The X-700, X-570, and X-370 also have multi-coated mirrors, which I don't think previous Minoltas had.

I have no idea how much of a difference a multi-coated mirror makes.

- Murray

 

[Doug]

...I have no idea how much of a difference a multi-coated mirror makes.

- Murray

I think it would make for a more durable mirror surface if nothing else. The aluminum-front-surface mirrors can be very delicate... Back in the '60s I tried brushing some dust off a Pentax H3 mirror gently using a soft camels-hair brush. Scratched heck out of it! 🙁

 

[CMur12]

I think it would make for a more durable mirror surface if nothing else. The aluminum-front-surface mirrors can be very delicate... Back in the '60s I tried brushing some dust off a Pentax H3 mirror gently using a soft camels-hair brush. Scratched heck out of it! 🙁

Hi Doug -

I remember being warned, back in the early 1970s, not to touch the surface of an SLR mirror!

I would think that a single coating would suffice to protect the delicate mirror surface. Multi-coating has always been associated with enhanced light transmission, and it makes sense to me that this principle would apply here. I would expect it to play a role in finder brightness along with the Acute Matte focusing screen, but I don't know what the relative contribution of each would be.

- Murray

 

[analogpics]

I don't know exactly when Minolta introduced the Acute Matte focusing screens. I know that the later XD-11s and XD-5s had it. The X-700, X-570, and X-370 also have multi-coated mirrors, which I don't think previous Minoltas had.

I have no idea how much of a difference a multi-coated mirror makes.

- Murray

Ahhh I was wondering about this. I have an early xd11 and curious if getting a newer one would make a difference as far as the viewfinder 🙂

 

[analogpics]

I don't know exactly when Minolta introduced the Acute Matte focusing screens. I know that the later XD-11s and XD-5s had it. The X-700, X-570, and X-370 also have multi-coated mirrors, which I don't think previous Minoltas had.

I have no idea how much of a difference a multi-coated mirror makes.

- Murray

Do you know if the xd-5 was more plastic than the xd-11? Seems like ive been reading that a bit online

 

[CMur12]

Do you know if the xd-5 was more plastic than the xd-11? Seems like ive been reading that a bit online

I've never handled an XD-5 or an XD-11. If these cameras had included AEL (auto-exposure lock), I would probably have a couple of them!

- Murray

 

[analogpics]

I've never handled an XD-5 or an XD-11. If these cameras had included AEL (auto-exposure lock), I would probably have a couple of them!

- Murray

Yes, i would miss ael in the xd series, but i would like the sturdier body 🙂

I wonder if any other cameras had as...coarse(?) of a microprism as the x series that really pops.